AEGiS-IRIN: NAMIBIA: HIV/AIDS Charter launched

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

NAMIBIA: HIV/AIDS Charter launched

Integrated Regional Information Networks - December 8, 2000

A new pocket-sized HIV/AIDS Charter of Rights was launched on 1 December, International AIDS Day, in the Namibian capital Windhoek. The booklet provides guidelines with regard to confidentiality and privacy of those who are HIV-positive. According to the Charter, people living with HIV-AIDS have the right to confidentiality and privacy about their health and HIV status.

"In the context of HIV-AIDS, confidentiality means that health care workers are ethically and legally required to keep all patient information to themselves. This means that any information about the patient's illness or treatment can only be given to another person with the patient's consent," the Charter says. It states that public measures should be adopted to protect persons living with HIV-AIDS, including children and adolescents, from discrimination in employment, housing, education, childcare and custody and the provision of medical, social and welfare services.

The Namibian Charter on HIV-AIDS was published by the AIDS Law Unit of the Legal Assistance Centre with support from the United States Embassy in Windhoek and the Ford Foundation.

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